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Fitchburg council cutting out paper

By Alana Melanson, amelanson@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
05/19/2013 07:24:34 AM EDT

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE/ JOHN LOVE
Liz Keese, Fitchburg's principal clerk, holds up the City Council agenda that is printed out every other week to be used at the council meetings. This one is about 100 pages long.

FITCHBURG -- Going paperless seems like a simple task, but is it?

City councilors are ditching paper at their next two meetings to see if it is possible. Instead of thick paper packets, they will receive digital documents via email.

The idea to go paperless originated with Councilor Jeff Bean, who sees it as a way to reduce the amount of paper, ink and staff hours it takes to create the packets councilors have known for years. The move is expected to save the city money, too.

With most councilors owning laptops, tablet computers and smartphones, Bean said it makes sense to go digital. Councilors without portable devices will have to print out their own paper copies, rather than the current policy of having them hand-delivered to their homes by police.

"I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised how much easier it'll be," said Bean, adding that putting digital documents on the city's website will increase government transparency, as well.

"I think it's a no-brainer," DiNatale said. "The amount of paper and time that the city clerk and her staff spend every week preparing those documents -- it's not cost effective, and it's not time effective."

DiNatale believes all councilors should invest in a laptop or tablet to fulfill their duties. He does not support using city funds to provide such devices to councilors.

"To me, it's part of the job," he said.

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"It's a small sacrifice on our part as public servants."

Council President Jody Joseph disagrees.

Joseph sees the small salary he receives for serving on the council as his "charity money," that he gives to causes such as the Senior Center, the Boys & Girls Club and the council's scholarship fund. He said he doesn't want to spend that money on a device, or on paper and ink.

Joseph only owns a desktop computer, which he keeps for basic tasks like checking his email.

"To buy (a portable device) just for a council meeting doesn't seem to make sense to me," he said.

Councilors received their first 141-page digital packet on Thursday. If not sent digitally, the city would have had to print 15 paper packets -- 11 for councilors, one for the clerk, one for the mayor, one for the city solicitor and one for the press -- totaling 2,115 sheets.

DiNatale said that is reason enough to go paperless. Joseph said councilors who prefer paper should not have that option taken away.

The city's IT Director Trevor Bonilla said he would ultimately like to build touch screen computers into the councilors' desks. That's an idea Joseph could get behind.

"That's the place to be, and hopefully we'll get there," he said.

Bonilla's proposal would require the council to have a permanent home, something it has not had since City Hall was vacated. It would also require money.

Some government boards in other nearby communities have already done away with paper. The Nashoba Regional School District School Committee has been running meetings paperless for the past five years, but has benefited from a robust wireless system and available technology, according to Superintendent Michael Wood.

During meetings, committee members borrow laptops that are available at the school they meet at, Wood said, and all relevant materials are uploaded to the district website by his assistant and are accessible to all. While the savings in paper and ink have not been tracked, Wood said they have gone to support the website, wireless hubs and Internet costs.

If laptops and tablets at meetings become a permanent part of the Fitchburg City Council's future, Bean said the council will have to update its rules of conduct. The state Open Meeting Law prohibits members of public bodies from using communication devices to correspond with one another at public meetings.

While Joseph is hesitant about going paperless, he acknowledged that embracing new technology is often inevitable. He has even seen it in his own household.

Joseph never thought his wife could switch to an e-reader with her "thousands of books lying around the house," but he said she has switched over and still continues to read book after book.

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